The World Press Photo of the Year award for 2025 has been awarded to a poignant portrait of Mahmoud Ajjour, a nine-year-old boy from Gaza who lost both of his arms in an Israeli attack. The powerful image, captured by Gazan journalist Samar Abu Elouf, showcases Ajjour’s resilience and the devastation caused by the conflict.
Ajjour’s story is a heartbreaking reminder of the harsh realities faced by many children in Gaza, where the highest number of child amputees in the world reside, according to UNICEF. The photo, which depicts Ajjour bathed in sunlight, serves as a quiet yet impactful representation of the ongoing conflict in the region.
Human rights organizations have condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, with a significant number of journalists being killed during the conflict. The World Press Photo Foundation praised Elouf’s photograph for its ability to shed light on Ajjour’s story and the broader impact of the conflict on future generations.
Elouf’s win marks the second consecutive year that a Palestinian photojournalist has received the prestigious award. The competition, which received over 59,000 entries from photographers worldwide, also recognized images capturing Chinese immigrants at the US-Mexico border and a man navigating a drought-stricken riverbed in the Amazon as runners-up.
The regional winners of the contest offer glimpses into diverse and often tumultuous lives around the world, from a Sudanese groom on a cell phone to a portrait of a trans man in the Netherlands. Elouf will receive a cash prize and a Fujifilm camera, with his winning photo set to be showcased in a global exhibition alongside other regional winners and finalists.
The World Press Photo of the Year serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of photojournalism in capturing the human stories behind global conflicts and crises. Through images like Elouf’s, we are invited to engage with complex narratives and confront the harsh realities faced by individuals like Mahmoud Ajjour in conflict zones around the world.
